| Suchen Christine Lim is acclaimed the most gifted and prominent writer in Singapore. Her first novel Rice Bowl shocked the whole Singapore with its accusation of political situation of Singapore in the eighteen sixties and seventies. The novel’s other connotation was found as time went by, so it’s moved on the scene and won some play prizes. Current research on Suchen Christine Lim and her works are few and not deepgoing enough This paper makes a research on Lim’s first important work Rice Bowl based on the awareness that the novel always focuses on a instructive issue, that is how the newly-born Singapore would survive in an extreme difficult and complex circumstance. This issue goes through the development of characters and plot. In addition to the special social circumstance of temporal Singapore, theory torrents of that age also find their foothold in Lim’s Rice Bowl. In particular, Lim didn’t cater for the overwhelming substantial fever at that time, instead, she keeps a watchful eye on the confusion and difficult choice in the process of survival, with her global perspective and foresight, Rice Bowl shows profounder meaning and a wealth of survival theme.This paper conducts an Existentialistic study of Suchen Christine Lim’s Rice Bowl, trying to understand the profound and extensive survival themes of this novel and the potential connotation behind them. Lim’s attitude towards individual living is quite clear. The common state of individual existence is inauthentic living, which mainly refers to the individual’s submission to social values and cultural traditions. In addition, mental suffering of individuals are unavoidable, they are shown from different aspects. Lim, like the Existentialists, believes that the meaning of life lies in individual freedom, thus she quest for individuals to making free choice and taking responsibility for their own choices. Lim’s concern for the survival of Singapore shows mainly in her reflection on its political and education system, as a critical author with strong sense of responsibility for her country, Lim depicts and criticizes the maladies in political and education system in Singapore. The survival of human being is not the focus of Lim’s Rice Bowl, but it can’t be neglected because of Lim’s exquisite design of characters and plots. The special background of1970s endows Rice Bowl a potential meaning. During that period rationalism as well as the worship of science and technology spread from the U.S and Europe to other less developed countries, which makes the worship of science, technology and rationality an overwhelming phenomenon in the whole world, and becomes one of the greatest force influencing human life. Lim’s critique of this overall faith echoes to other survival themes in Rice Bowl, and gives Rice Bowl a quite deeper and wider meaning.There are five chapters in this thesis. The first chapter gives a survey of Suchen Christine Lim’s life and her works as well as a literature review of her works. In addition, a general summary of thesis statement, significance and structure are given in this chapter. The second chapter gives a detailed study of the individual survival theme of Lim’s Rice Bowl. Lim criticizes inauthentic living suppressed by social values and cultural traditions, and quests for authentic living of individuals realizing by making free choices and taking responsibility for their own choices. The third chapter explores the theme of national survival in Rice Bowl. Lim depicts and criticizes the maladies in political and education system in Singapore, and exclaims her quest for political freedom and change in education system. The fourth chapter reveals the survival theme of human being in Rice Bowl. It mainly deals with her criticism on rationalism as well as the worship of science and technology in1970s. The final chapter summarizes the survival theme in Rice Bowl and the potential meaning behind it. |
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